An Introduction to Ninh Chu Bay MGT Management Consulting
INTRODUCTION Ninh Chu Bay is a rapidly growing tourism destination offering a tremendous opportunity for resort and entertainment investment. Tourism demand is increasing much faster than supply; creating very high occupancy rates for resorts. Domestic tourism grew at over 30% in the first nine months of 2013 compared to same period year before. Land prices are still much lower than other locations, providing much value. Located between Phan Thiet and Nha Trang - in the last two years the number of foreigners visiting Ninh Chu bay has gone from basically nothing to 500 per night. Pegas Touristik s customers booked about 15,000 nights of resort rooms in one month (Jan 2014). That is about 70% occupancy rate for all the resorts from just one customer. Anh Duong executives, say they would bring many more customers to Ninh Chu Bay if more and better accommodations were available. The bay has 7 resorts (all locally owned and operated), but none of them focus on the foreign market. They offer similar bad food, terrible service, and no activities or amenities. Pegas/Anh Duong is frustrated with the lack of attention given to their customers. A huge opportunity is just waiting for an investor that wants to provide good food, good service, and fun to both foreign customers and discerning Vietnamese. As we have seen in Nha Trang (The Sailing Club) and Phan Thiet (Coco Beach Resort, Victoria), first mover advantages exist if you can establish a brand and get into the guide books as the place to go. Now is that time for Ninh Chu Bay.
KEY INFORMATION Location: Adjacent to the city of Phan Rang the capital of Ninh Thuan Province. In the center of the tourism triangle of Phan Thiet, Dalat, and Nha Trang. Getting There: By Plane Phan Rang shares the Cam Ranh International Airport with Nha Trang. It is a 60km drive from the airport to Ninh Chu Bay and it takes one hour. This is equivalent to the time it takes to the north side of Nha Trang. By Train The Thap Cham train station is actually in Phan Rang. It s about 10km from the beach. It is about a 7 hr train ride from Saigon. By Car/Bus Highway 1A runs through Phan Rang and it takes less than 5 minutes to get to the beach. Driving to Phan Rang takes about 7 hours from Saigon and less than 2 hours from Nha Trang.
DEMAND Demand for Rooms (what others are saying): Ninh Thuan experienced 72,300 Russian visitors since the beginning of 2013. The area is estimated to draw more 30,000 Russian during the peak tourist season. Visitors often stay for about 14 days. (Link) Danang, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Quang Nam are among the localities seeing high growth rates with 20.5%, 16%, 30.6% and 30.2% respectively. -2013- (Link) Ninh Thuan province welcomed over 40,000 tourists from January 28-February 5, up 15 percent against the same period last year. (Link) In 2013, the province received 1.1 million tourists. (Link) Note: While most articles talk about Ninh Thuan tourism, Ninh Chu Bay/Phan Rang is by far the most popular spot for tourists to stay. In fact, other than the Amano i in Vinh Hy Bay and a couple small hotels in CaNa, Ninh Chu Bay/Phan Rang is the only place.
SUPPLY Despite steady and rapid growth in tourists, new supply is not coming onto the market other than mini-hotels near the beach. Aniise Villa was the last resort to open (April 2011). During the Russian high-season, Pegas customers alone account for nearly 70% occupancy in the bay. Even though the number of foreigners is increasing, the local market is still much greater and the summer is still considered the high-season.
BEACH & OCEAN Ninh Chu Bay voted one of Vietnam s nine most beautiful beaches (link) No river runs into the bay (unlike Nha Trang and Phan Thiet) so the water is clean. Fishing boats are moored in an estuary, so their waste products do not go into the bay. 10 km of sandy beach shaped in a crescent. The beach is safe for swimming. No riptide. Waves are not big except for in December and January. Resorts along the beach all have waste-water treatment. The bay is protected and has no erosion problems.
ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS Wind Sports (Kite Surfing): Just like Phan Thiet/Mui Ne, Ninh Chu Bay has consistent strong winds every afternoon which are perfect for kite surfing. Already, Kite Surf Vietnam and other Mui Ne companies are bringing their customers to Ninh Chu Bay. (link). In Mui Ne, up to 150 kite surfers can be in the water at once. This creates unsafe conditions, is difficult for beginners, and not fun for experts. In the last few months, Ninh Chu Bay has received some of the spill-over. Up to 50 kite surfers a day now stay.
ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS Pagodas and Temples: Po Klang Garai Located next to the train station, this 700 year old temple is in great shape and is still used for ceremonies by the local Cham people. Buildings at the base have historical information and gift shops. Monastery Complex on a Hill A wonderful new complex of pagodas, Buddha statues, and a monastery; all connected by walking paths that lead up to the top of a hill overlooking Ninh Chu Bay. The views are spectacular and it is a short walk from most of the resorts.
ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS Vinh Hy Bay and the New Coastal Road: Just 20 km north of Ninh Chu Bay, visitors can go to beautiful Vinh Hy Bay via a new road. Aman Resort group chose this scenic fishing village for their first Vietnam resort. Continuing north along the road will bring you to some of the most beautiful, unspoiled beaches in Vietnam. The just completed road opens the Nui Chua National Forest up for exploration for the first time. Ultimately the road re-connects with Highway 1 near the Cam Ranh Internatioinal Airport.
ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS April 16 Park: One kilometer from the beach, a spacious park was built to be a community gathering place. On beautiful evenings (which is just about every evening), it seems as if the entire city of Phan Rang goes to the park to eat and socialize. Food and drink vendors sell all the famous local dishes. The park includes a beautiful, modern museum that will showcase local Cham items and other relics.
CLIMATE Ninh Chu Bay has the best weather in Vietnam and perhaps all of Southeast Asia. The area has a Mediterranean climate as confirmed by its famous grapes. Least amount of rain in Vietnam. Most sunny days in Vietnam. Mostly unaffected by typhoons. Cooler temperatures in the summers than all other coastal locations from Hue to the south. Strong consistent wind all year round - perfect for wind sports. Temperature Average (F) Average (C) Average Rainfall (mm) Month max min max min Daily Monthly January 81.0 70.5 27.2 21.4 1.0 30.9 February 82.2 71.1 27.9 21.7 0.8 21.7 March 84.7 73.4 29.3 23.0 1.0 31.9 April 88.0 76.3 31.1 24.6 1.0 30.8 May 90.1 77.7 32.3 25.4 2.1 66.2 June 90.7 78.3 32.6 25.7 1.4 41.8 July 90.5 78.1 32.5 25.6 0.8 24.5 August 90.7 77.9 32.6 25.5 1.0 30.8 September 89.2 76.8 31.8 24.9 5.1 153.6 October 85.6 75.4 29.8 24.1 8.0 248.8 November 83.1 73.9 28.4 23.3 9.8 294.3 December 81.0 72.0 27.2 22.2 5.7 177.8
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Government: Ninh Thuan Province has preferential policies for investors. Lower tax rates, tax holidays, and reduced or no land lease payments. After hiring The Monitor Group to help establish the Economic Development Office (EDO) in 2012, Ninh Thuan moved up 28 spots on the VCCI Provincial Competitiveness Index (18 th ). (link)
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 1. New Flights from China to Cam Ranh. Throughout the world, hospitality companies are preparing for the huge increase in Chinese tourists. Cam Ranh International Airport is perfectly positioned to receive these new middleclass consumers looking for a reasonably priced, warm weather beach vacations. The airport is scheduled to be upgraded by 2020, but it is already beginning to receive Chinese tourists. During Tet (2014), the airport received 14 flights a week from Hong Kong and China. 2. The Re-opening of the Phan Rang to Dalat Railroad. Before the war, a railway linked Vietnam s coast to the highland via the Phan Rang to Dalat Railroad. Plans have been made and funding received to put this railroad back into operation. When completed, Phan Rang will become the gateway to the south central highlands.
MORE INFORMATION For more information on investments in Ninh Chu Bay, contact: MGT Management Consulting Specialists in Vietnam Coastal Tourism and Ninh Thuan Province www.mgtmanagement.com Email: info@mgtmanagement.com